Tips for Presentations & Public Speaking: Home

• Tell a story. Audiences respond better and be more convinced with stories that data.
• Use examples and anecdotes.
• Use surprises. This could be using a video when the audience thinks they are only getting slides.

The information for your presentation usually comes from a paper, case study, analysis, essay, or report. Choose only the key points from your paper. Go back to the question you were asked when you originally wrote your paper.

Your presentation needs an introduction, body, and conclusion. Before you begin, plan what your presentation will look like. Use only the important points from your paper to plan sections of your presentation. These points then become the focus.

For each major section of your presentation, follow the 4 S Structure:

• Signpost the point (“First, I’m going to point out the problem with...” “My second argument is that...” “It can be concluded that...”)
• State the point clearly and succinctly.
• Support the point with data, cases, descriptions, relevant studies, etc.
• Summarize the point.

From these, you design your slides and choose corresponding images and text.

This rule introduced by Guy Kawasaki states that a PowerPoint presentation should have no more than 10 slides, be 20 minutes long, and use no less than 30-point font.

This rule will keep the presentation on track so that you stay on time, as well as have a presentation that moves at a good pace and is readable.

• Read more about the 10/20/30 rule (by Guy Kawasaki)
• This LinkedIn article has even more information about how to apply this rule.

• Use PowerPoint only if it will enhance audience attention, understanding, or retention.
• Be selective about what you put on slides. Don’t put the entire presentation on slides.
• Use visual and audio effects only if they serve your purpose and do not call attention to themselves. Make the technology serve the presentation. Don’t let it dominate.
• These are tools to help you tell your story. Don’t let the tools become the story.

Never read your presentation word for word. A good presentation is one where the presenter makes eye contact with his or her audience over the entire presentation. This means not reading your paper - your eyes are down, and you lose your audience.

To help with this, make good notes, use cue cards, or put all notes on one sheet of paper. You can then glance at your notes for prompts. Better yet, learn and understand the material for your presentation, practice, and then use the images and text in your visual presentation as cues.

Avoid becoming monotone. Use variations in speed, inflections, and force to enhance your meaning and hold audience attention.
Practice pronouncing words with which you are unfamiliar.

Oftentimes, a presenter does not notice their voice and body habits, which can be distracting when presenting. Remember, presenting is visual and oral storytelling. With this in mind, understanding how a presentation looks and sounds is important. Keep these elements in mind:

• Voice - “um,” “uh,” “okay”; everything sounding like a question (raising voice at the end of sentences); nervous laugh at the end of sentences; clearing the throat a lot, reading too quickly.

• Body language - flipping hair back, playing with pen/pointer etc., rolling and unrolling notes, pushing sleeves up and down, playing with keys or coins in pockets, stepping back and forth/tapping foot, rocking body, touching face/adjusting glasses, turning rings on hand, waving hands around, tugging at shirt.

• Visual aids - flipping overheads/slides too fast, talking to the screen.

Before you start working on your presentation:

• Check emails from your lecturer and the assignment question for how it should be presented,
• Check your learning materials and recommended reading on the course page,
• Read all instructions carefully - make sure you understand them and follow them exactly.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when creating an effective PowerPoint presentation:

1. Remember to avoid too much text. You should keep your text brief and include talking points only. Detailed notes can be inserted into the notes section of PowerPoint, but only you should see those notes, unless a professor asks to see your notes to evaluate your PowerPoint as an assignment.
2. Be consistent and clear with your font choices. Helvetica is a nice font for presentations. Make sure your font is large enough for an audience in a room to see your text, even if audience members are sitting in the back of the room.
3. Be careful with your colour choices for text and background. You want to make sure your audience can read your text easily. Black-on-white text is the easiest to read but is also dull for a presentation. Still, when you add colour, ensure it works and doesn’t distract.
4. Add images. Text on slides for every slide is boring. To keep your audience engaged, add appropriate images to your slides. Relevant charts and graphs are excellent, as are pictures that will connect to your content.
5. Make sure your main points are clear. Remember to connect your ideas well and provide background information and transitions when necessary.
6. Keep your audience in mind. Your audience will affect the overall tone and appearance of your presentation. Sometimes, humour can be appropriate. Other times, a more serious tone may be necessary. Just as you evaluate your situation any time you write a paper, you should evaluate your situation for creating a PowerPoint presentation.

(Source: PowerPoints - Excelsior Online Writing Lab, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-4.0 International License.)

The library's Communication Skills Collection collection of books on communication skills is extensive and diverse, offering various resources for individuals looking to improve their verbal, nonverbal, and written communication abilities. From books on public speaking and presentation skills to guides on effective business communication and interpersonal relationships, the collection covers various aspects of communication in both personal and professional contexts. Whether you want to enhance your presentation skills, improve your listening abilities, or master the art of negotiation, the library's collection provides valuable insights and practical strategies for developing strong communication skills.